Blog

We’ve spoken before about the perfect 30th Birthday gift, although many of the gifts would be appropriate for a 50th, below are a few gifts that any turning away from the roaring 40’s would like.

Celebrating a Friend or Family Member’s 50th birthday is always a special affair, and turning up with the perfect gift is just one of the many ways you can show your love and gratitude all at once. But what do you get the person who’s spent the last 50 years receiving fantastic gifts?
With any luck, this post will assist with that dilemma– we’ve put together a list of 10 amazing gift ideas for a 50th birthday celebration party. Whether it’s for a parent, friend or spouse, you’re certain to find something that suits their personality!

What’s a birthday celebration without a bottle of wine? This classy beverage has long been a staple of celebrations for thousands of yours… and why stop now? But instead of appearing with a plain bottle that you’ve grabbed from Tesco’s, consider giving them a personalised wine bottle. Some of the best Personalised Birthday wines have the individual’s name, birth date and even a Personal message written on the label, making it even more special.

2) Theatre tickets

If you know that your giftee has a flair for drama and suspense, a pair of theatre tickets is a fantastic gift . Not only will it show that you listen and respect their passions, but it’s also a sophisticated gift. Lastly, there’s so much to pick when you decide on which tickets to get; you could bring them to their beloved show or try something a little different, either way they’re sure to love it.

3) Personalised Photo Album

With plenty of wonderful memories accrued over 50 years on this planet, what better way is there to remember them than by displaying them all in a stylish photo album. Provided in a variety of colours and styles, there’s plenty of options available out there, ensuring that you can choose the ideal one. This makes a terrific gift for a partner, filled with photos of the time you’ve had together that’s sure to bring a tear to the eye, or for a parent, displaying your favourite memories of your younger years with them by your side the entire way.

4) Day out experience

If the birthday guy or gal loves getting out to attempt new experiences, presenting them an organised day out is a fantastic gift. There are truly hundreds of choices to pick from when seeking out a gift, ranging from wine and cheese tasting courses to track days at a motor track. Whatever they enjoy, you can guarantee there is something that matches their passion.

5) Jewellery

This may appear like an easy gift, but the timeless are timeless for a reason. Depending on who your loved one is and what they love, there are hundreds of jewellery gifts you could potentially give them. From bands and cufflinks for a man to earrings and necklaces for a woman, the choice is entirely up to you. In addition to this, there’s a lot of ways to customise jewellery, either with an inscription or with a special gemstone.

6) Grow your own herb garden

If you’ve got an eager gardener in the family, this is a great gift to complement their interest. With anything from herb gardens to chilli growing packs available online, there’s bound to be an item for your friend. Whether or not they’re keen on venturing out in the garden, this also makes a great gift for eager chefs who want to spice things up in the kitchen.

7) Books

In this modern world of TV and internet, the simple act of receiving a book is rarer and rarer. If your loved one is an avid reader, what better present could there be? Instead of simply wrapping a random book, try and find their favourite type of novel in a new copy, or even look for collectable editions of the book. There are also heaps of additions you can add; for example, bookmarks and reading lights to really finish the gift.

8) Bouquet of flowers

Beautiful, attractive, and refined, a bouquet of flowers is a timeless present for any occasion, but it could be a lot more precious for a loved one’s 50th. Choose their favourite flowers or just those with a special meaning, and accompany the bouquet with a personalised note for a genuinely excellent present.

9) Dressing gown

Comfort should always take precedence when you’re entering your midlife, so giving your family member or friend a new comfy dressing gown with matching slippers is the best way to commemorate their crossover into the relaxing years. With plenty of styles and combinations readily available, you can get them exactly what suits, and you can even personalise it with their name or initials.

What gifts are you considering giving this year? Are there any we’ve missed? Let us know in the comments below!

Like this:

Here at Its Your Bottle we love producing personalised wine bottles for all our customers, whether it’s for a wedding, birthday or a Corporate Gift. Sometimes it can be difficult to determine whether the gift should be White, Red or a Rosé, hopefully we can explain a little about each variety and help you decide what to pick for your Personalised Wine!

White, Red and Rosé… what are they? And what are the differences between them? There is a lot more difference than just colour and taste.

One of the biggest misconceptions is that white wine comes from white grapes, whilst red wine comes from red grapes. Although this would seem logical, its not exactly true. Both the red and white grapes produce a white juice, it’s the skin, seeds and production process that produces the end colour and taste

WHITE WINE

As we discussed above, white wine can come from any type of grape, although the majority do come from white grapes. The characteristics of the white wine are made because the grape juice is fermented alone, i.e. the seeds, skin and pulp is removed before fermentation.
White wines can vary wildly, from sweet to dry, but usually consist of floral, fruity and fresh tastes. The sweetness / dryness of the wine is primarily dictated by the amount of sugar in the wine, and its alcohol content.

Most white wines are not aged beyond 1 or 2 years, and are produced in large stainless steel tanks. Some exceptions to this rule do apply, certain varieties are aged within oak barrels to add flavour and depth.

RED WINES

Although a white wine can be made from any colour grape, a red wine must be made from a red grape. Red wine is made from the juice, skin and seeds of the grape, this is what gives the wine colour and taste.

There are many variations in the fermenting process of red wine, but the general rule is that the grapes are fermented with their skins left on, it is the pigment from the skin that then leeches out to produce the colour.

The thickness of the skin will determine the taste of the resulting wine, a thicker skin will produce a more full bodied wine. Whereas a thinner skinned grape will release less tannin into the wine, and therefore a lighter wine will result.

The variety of red wine being produced will determine how the wine is aged. if the wine is to be fresh and fruity, the winemaker will age the wine in steel containers. Whereas if the wine is to be deep and full bodied, it will be aged within Wooden barrels to induce further taste notes.

ROSE WINES

The third popular type of wine is Rosé

In a similar way to Red wines, rosé’s are not made from white grapes. The wine begins to ferment in a similar method to red wine in which the skins and seeds are left in the tank, but then removed much sooner than they would be for a red wine. They are usually only left together for a few hours before being removed.

Like this:

30 is nowadays thought by many to be the new 20, Reaching that perfect age is still a cause for distress for many. Many people like to celebrate their ‘coming of age’ by drowning themselves in wine and spirits, and who can blame them?

How can you help those that have reached 30 celebrate? By getting them a few gifts of course, and we’ve selected a few great ones for you!

Gifts for her

Personalised wine – A glass of wine in your thirties is essential, so it’s a gift that you know will be put to good use! Add a special touch to the wine by adding a personalised message to the bottle itself.

30th birthday survival kit – Pack a gift bag with thirty impressive gifts for the birthday girl! It might embody serious things like anti-aging cream, or a Hangover recovery kit for the morning after she goes hard!

Wine Glass Holder – This is a wonderful handmade gift, providing rustic and style to your home decor. Whether its to impress friends or a date night, serving your wine and food on a stylish holder is the way forward.

Gifts for him

Beer with personalised labels! – This gift can be used for most men, you know they’ll appreciate it. Get that special man a few bottles of Craft Beers or Ales. For an added touch, you could add some Personalised Beer Labels that he will surely love!

Suit accessories – a man in his 30’s is somebody who’s certain of himself, somebody who knows how to rock a suit!. That’s why your gift of some suit accessories will be a winner. Ties, cuff links or belts are a good choice

Hangover cure kit – Im going to list this in both his and her’s gift selection, its going to be needed by both sexes as we like to celebrate in similar ways! Im sure its been a fantastic night!

Its important to know that whatever gift you do get them, make it something special! Personalised gifts really add a special touch and ensure that they know you appreciate them and want them to have a fantastic and memorable birthday!

Like this:

Your friend, or family member is getting married, you’ve ticked the RSVP card and you’ve declared you’ll be attending their wedding.

After you’ve decided what to wear and booked the time off you may scratch your head contemplating what to buy the future Bride and Groom on their special day. It’s not often nowadays that you will receive a wedding gift list from the couple with ideas on what to buy them as a present.

More often than not, you’ll have a small card attached to the wedding invite expressing their gratitude if you could provide them money towards a honeymoon, a house, or for bits and bobs. This isn’t a bad thing (we’ve done it) but if you’d like to get them something extra and a little more memorable you could go down the route of Personalised Wine.

At It’s Your Bottle we provide a range of wines including Red, White, Rosé and Prosecco. Our Personalised Wine provides you with not only a beautiful unique gift to the happy couple but our products are high quality and affordable. So if you’re giving the Bride and Groom some money but want to provide the traditional gift why not supply them with a gift they can drink, keep and remember.

Like this:

You’re engaged! You’re excited, and you both have already started thinking of what kind of dress/suit you might wear on the day.

But when you finally sit down and realise that you have a Wedding to plan, the venue will most likely be the first thing that pops into your head. Choosing a venue for your Wedding is one of the most important decisions that you will make. Not only because you want it to be special and beautiful, but it is the core to all the planning which follows.

Continue to read if you want to find out all the Pro’s and Con’s of having a Village Hall Wedding… (Plus Village Hall pictures below).

People more often than not will consider a hotel for their venue. This is due to the majority of Hotel’s providing a Wedding Coordinator… it’s not a bad thing but its always best to expand your choices and seek out all venue opportunities. This blog post is dedicated to showcasing Village Halls in the UK. You’ll be surprised by the beauty, originality and modernised Halls you will find in your local area.

Pro’s:

Cost – £300 Average (This is to hire the hall and facilities for the day, evening and next morning clean up) If you are looking to hold your ceremony and evening reception at a Hotel, don’t be surprised if you’re charged around £2500. And that’s just the hire charge. *GULP*

Capacity – Don’t be limited, most Village Halls are designed to hold large events, functions and activities so you won’t be limited to the amount of people you invite. This also means that you won’t need to make the awkward decision of restricting plus one’s or crossing off any quests.

Food and Alcohol – You choose! You won’t be looking at a restricted menu or digging deeper into your pockets for money to afford the ‘more desired’ option. You can either hire an external catering company or get some family and friends to help out! When it comes to alcohol most Village Halls allow you to provide your own or they provide bar staff with a tiny charge (£50) and let you provide your own Wedding Wine.

Con’s:

You’re the Wedding Coordinator: And it might not even be a Con. You’ll be decorating and planning from scratch. But what’s not to like about that? Instead of putting the pressure on yourself, delegate people to help you out. Family and Friends would be more than happy to help out with different areas of the day so make a list and delegate. And when it comes to decorate, check out Ebay, people are always selling anything from Paper lanterns to fairy lights and if you need some imagination just look at what people are doing with Halls on Pinterest and Instagram.

Your not only saving yourself money, but Village Halls are funded by the local Village itself and run by volunteers, so you’re helping out a community 🙂

If your not convinced take a look at a few images below of some Village Halls in the UK and see for yourself.

Like this:

Ahhh, the traditional wedding… Church bells, white dress and a looooong honeymoon straight after… Its the dream of a lot of girls growing up. But weddings as we know them are changing, as couples are looking to make their mark on their big day, and work to make the day as memorable for them (and their guests) as possible.

At ItsYourBottle, we’ve noticed this trend, as people have been asking for personalised wine designs that don’t fit the ‘traditional’ mold, whether its a ‘<arel=”nofollow” href=”https://itsyourbottle.co.uk/product/the-hen-do/”>carnival themed’ wedding, or more light hearted personalised wine labels, we have noticed an increase in personalised designs to suit each couple’s personality.

Weddings are awash with traditions, and we don’t think that all of them will fall to the wayside (Im thinking of Best Man speeches, first dances and lots of booze!), we feel that others may start to become less common as inspiration from Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook increases.

Taking the groom’s last name

This is a tradition that goes back centuries, in which the bride, upon marriage, would take the name of her husband.

The tradition is losing popularity, and we think its for two main reasons:

The hassle! Think about the amount of Banks, Companies and Organisations that you will have to around and inform of the name change. Life around wedding time can be manic, and this is seen by many as an unneeded problem

The tradition arises as it was a symbol of a ‘transfer of ownership’ of the bride from the father to the new husband, which obviously isn’t a viewpoint shared these days

Parents of the bride pay for the wedding

The tradition goes, the parents of the bride pay for the wedding whilst the parents of the groom pay for the honeymoon.

The change from this tradition is that now, 48% of couples foot the bill themselves. One way of overcoming this cost is to push the honeymoon into the next year!

Matching bridesmaids

One of the most hotly debated topics during pre-wedding planning! What do the bridesmaids wear, and how do you please each one with a matching outfit?

Many couples have completely scrapped the need for matching dresses and let each bridesmaid pick their dress (although Im sure that the bride will ensure the outfit is suitable…)

Sit down Meal

We’ve all been to weddings where the formal 3 course meal has been amazing, unfortunately some of us have been to weddings where the food has been less…amazing.

A lot of couples are choosing alternative meal choices such as a hog roast, BBQ or even Pizzas! Its another way to add a personalised touch to any wedding

Like this:

I’ve been to enough Hen and Stag Do’s to know that alcohol plays a large part of the day and evening. So when the alcohol is flowing we all tend to adapt an almost different persona (I like to call it the Jekyll and Hyde theory). At It’s Your Bottle we want to celebrate the fact that we are a bit kooky in our own very special way. So if your like me and can resemble the below with your group of lovely friends why not buy our Personalised Hen Do Persona Wine?

You’ll find that you can have sashes, cards or t-shirts that express your personality after a few but if your pre-drinking then why not drink from the bottle that’s named for you!

I’ts a given that Wine will be drunk during the Hen Party over the night or over the weekend, so why not add a personal and fun touch to your personalised wine by buying our Hen Do Persona Range at It’s Your Bottle. Our Personalised Wine is only £14.49 so save a trip to the shop and have yourself some fancy wine completely unique to the Hens and Bride to Be.

Like this:

You’ve booked the venue, made seating arrangements and picked a scrummy catering company to cook you and your guests a perfect sit down meal. So now you you’re looking to decorate the tables and place clear directions for your guests to know exactly where they are going to sit.

You may decorate your tables with Flowers, Bird Cages, Candles or pictures, but what could you use other than number ornaments to suggest which table is what?

It is widely common to serve wine at the table, especially during the meal as wine is complimented most when served with food. Depending on the amount of people per table will determine how much wine to provide. This wine is normally Red or White with the occasional Rosé if the food being served is of a lighter variety e.g. Pasta or Fish.

Providing wine on the table also allows you to close the bar at the venue during the meal which is proven to be cost saving. Most venues will allow the Bride and Groom to provide their own Wine at the table at either at ‘no corkage fee’ or at a low corkage rate. Either way it would still be cheaper for the Bride and Grooms to provide their own alcohol for the table. Most venues on average can sell wine per bottle at £25.00 each.

So when your guests arrive at their designated table and see wine they will love it! It’s cost saving for both the married couple and their guests. It also saves some awkward trips to the bar. It is most likely that wine will be on the table, why not have it personalised from £2.50? At It’s Your Bottle we not only provide the designs for Table Wine but can’t be beaten on our Personalised Wine at £14.49.

Why not take a look at our Personalised Wine for Table Numbers… But remember all our designs can be customised to suit your requirements so why not browse our Bride and Groom Personalised Wine as well, we would be able to change any of the designs to meet your needs.

Like this:

Those newlyweds have put on a show, entertained everyone, and we’ve all had a real good time! Its traditional for each guest (or couple) to give the Bride and Groom as a way of starting them on their future life together.

Money

Let’s be honest… it’s not the most imaginative, but it may be the most appreciated by the Newly betrothed. With Weddings costing more and more, the couple may have pockets that feel a little lighter than a short while ago. Gifting them money gives them the option to use your gift in ways that they really want (or need), such as paying a loan/credit card that desperately needs paying off!

A Fantastic gift to give to the lovely couple as they set off for their life together, or possibly even an opportunity for them to share some fizz before they set off for their honeymoon! ItsYourBottle produce plenty of designs that they will love for after their big day

Pictures

One gift that they may appreciate is a picture of them together or even with you! A picture in a stunning frame can be a great gift, just make sure that you get a style that the couple would be proud to hang on their wall.

Handmade wooden gifts

One of the new trends is to have Bespoke wooden gifts that can be used for different occasions. The great thing about these gifts is that they are beautifully made, and you know that each product is carefully made to ensure it is perfect before it is allowed to go. https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/HiddenbeautiesCo

Vouchers

Very similar to money, but some people believe that vouchers are seen as more of a ‘gift’ than money itself. I personally believe that it restricts the receiver on where they can spend their gift. But, at least you know it will be going on a gift rather than next week’s shopping!

Electrical Appliances

I would only recommend appliances if the couple have a ‘Wedding gift list’, this is due to a couple of reasons:

If they already live together, its likely that they already own most of the items that you would be thinking of buying them (toaster, blender, Microwave)

If they are saving up for a place to live, they would have to store the items until they have a place of their own to use them, in which case, money may be better to help towards their deposit

Contribution to the wedding

As I talked about in one of my other Blog Posts LINK HERE, helping the couple on their big day would be a really personal touch, and help take some of the load off them on their big day. Helping to bake a cake or make a bouquet would be a great thing to do if you possess the skills

Like this:

Fathers Day is creeping up quickly and if you haven’t got the faintest clue what to get the man then keep reading. You may have a father who either has everything, doesn’t know what he wants you to buy him or simply responds with the four words ‘don’t get me anything.’ – Lie, we all know they want a gift.

So if your struggling, why not have a look at our website It’s Your Bottle. We provide handmade bespoke wine which is sure to pull on the heart strings and give him a smile. So why not provide a personalised message along with a tasty bottle of wine to show what a great dad he is to you!

We have some fantastic Fathers Day wine designs, but it doesn’t mean you need to pick these, all our designs can be adjusted and tailored to suit the words you wish to use. Our wine choices include Red, White, Rosé and Prosecco. A bottle of personalised Wine starts from £14.49, if you want to go a touch further then why not have it gift wrapped in one of our premium gift boxes, prices for these start at £6.99.

If your Dad isn’t a wine person then not to worry as we provide Beer Labels via our Etsy shop for a wide range of Beer Label designs.